US needs $271bn for wastewater infrastructure

The US needs $271 billion (£190m) worth of investment in the next five years to maintain and improve its wastewater infrastructure.

That includes pipes that carry wastewater to treatment plants and technology that treats the water, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Specifically, it states some of the funding will be needed to meet secondary treatment standards, rehabilitate and repair conveyance systems, install new sewer collection systems and further treatment of wastewater for reuse.

The EPA adds wastewater infrastructure must be more resilient to the impacts of climate change, including sea level rise, stronger and more frequent storms, flooding and drought.

Joel Beauvais, EPA’s Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water said: “The only way to have clean and reliable water is to have infrastructure that is up to the task. Our nation has made tremendous progress in modernising our treatment plants and pipes in recent decades but this survey tells us that a great deal of work remains.”